Freakhouse Interview

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Freakhouse


If you haven't heard of Freakhouse and you like rock, love rock, live rock, then you've got to check these guys out. They are a group that lives the life of true rock musicians. A group of four guys who are spinning rock back to life. Rob is a high energy lead singer that spews his emotional anger and frustration with life easily on stage. The guy is primal. The band rocks and I highly suggest that anyone who says " there aren't any good bands playing rock" get out of the dark ages because rock is here and here to stay Freakhouse is reincarnating the supposed lost art of producing great hard rock and roll.
Interviewing these guys was not easy. They can be clowns, sometimes serious and even arrogant! I still haven't figured out some of the answers, but then I was interviewing freaks. Matt does have some good advice for bands working on beating the odds and these guys have seen a lot, so if I were you I would head his word. Well some of it anyway, check out their CD or go to their website and have a listen. Oh did I mention that Virgil Donate is the drummer, yep that's right and if you don't know who Virgil is then get educated!

OFG: Its common knowledge that Freakhouse started out in Texas where everything is considered larger than life from homes to cars to steak. Has that attitude carried over into the bands show? Or has that come naturally from other influences?

Matt: A little bit of both. We cut our teeth opening up for bands like Drowning Pool. We used to play shows with them a lot in Dallas... it's always cool for us to play with good bands for a lot of reasons. That's the Texas end. We are all definitely are into bands like Manson and Zombie as well. Bands that give it all live. That kind of attitude was one of the things that brought us together as a band. We all wanted to bleed for it.

OFG: What was the move to the LA area like for the band and had you spent a lot of time contemplating how do go about doing it?

Matt: We ran up to the pool and dove in. Did I mention the water was muddy, we didn't know how deep it was and we were naked? No contemplation. We needed to be in LA and it was time. Bombs away! Everybody in this band has been through the hell storm and we've survived. It was tough, I can't lie to you. Numerous hard times on many levels. Having said that we had Virgil Donati about to join our band when we moved here so we had a ray of hope. Scott and I didn't know who he was when he was recommended to us by our producer. Rob held up one hand with all five fingers extended and basically said, "He's one of the top 5 drummers... in the world." Scott and I quickly got brought up to speed on who Virgil was and found out for ourselves that Rob was right.

OFG: Matt and Rob it looks like you two have a sort of mutual understanding when writing songs, how do you go about the actual art of doing it,

Matt: Inspiration+perspiration+intoxication. That's pretty much the formula. Songwriting can be a lot of fun and it can be hard work. We throw away lots of stuff and are very critical about what makes the cut. Everybody in this band knows each other very well. We all have our strengths that we throw into the mix. Freakhouse is the result.

OFG: What's the bands drink of choice?

Rob: Heineken, Jagermeister, Jack Daniels, water, Pedialite (laughing)

OFG: Scott how did you come to play with the band?

Scott: I answered about 10 ads in the Austin, Texas local rock rag. It was totally obvious where I needed to be. You could spend five years with us and totally understand where we're coming from or you can listen to the CD. Same difference.

OFG: You have mysterious shroud that hangs over you while you're playing bass that is enticing, while the rhythm of the bass speaks for its self. At one of your shows a fan said "It's like the bass channels that dude and uses him as the medium rather than the other way around". What's up with that?
Do you agree with that observation?

Scott: Absolutely. With that comment you've really captured the essence of my head. Playing live is where the freaks accelerate time, space, and gravity into something you can bob your head to.


OFG: Rob you seem to be very quiet and laid back when your not on stage however when the lights come up there is some primal instinct that comes out. You have a strong and powerful presence that is hypnotizing what in your mind is this attributed too?

Rob: I've often said Freakhouse is about exorcising the demons of everyday life. That pretty much says it all. I let out all my frustration and pent up hostility on stage. We all do.

OFG: How did you guys come up with name Beautiful Misery? What does it really mean?

Matt: That is the key to it all. The yin and the yang. The highs and the lows. Often they are simultaneous. It represents our struggles and victories as musicians and people. Your's too.

OFG: The bands release of Beautiful Misery (Sony) in Europe rent right to the top 20 on the charts
Were you surprised?

Matt: It's always cool to hear people are digging it. We love our fans and want to give them their props right here, right now. We will always go the extra mile for our freaks.

OFG: What constitutes a freak?

First of all we're all freaks. You, me, everybody. All in different ways. Some are freakier than others though (laughs). The name of this band had some serious thought put it into, believe me. We know we are freaks. Do you?

OFG: Do any of you have children?

I have a dog. He's part Eskimo and is very human looking. He was a rescue. Go rescue an animal right now if you haven't already California has rubbed off on me.

OFG: What day jobs did you guys have while you were putting the band together?

Matt: Scott Freak actually did quite well collecting night crawlers until his fingernails and hands became so grimy that he could longer fret notes on his bass. Also rehearsals at that time were quite smelly... to the point where Rob was buying air freshener at the dollar store. When we would come back the next day the room would reek of potpourri scent. The one time that Rob's mom came down with a bag of groceries she was pleasantly surprised.

OFG: Where does the band plan on being in one year, and what are the long term plans for say five years from now?

Matt: We plan on being in Australia. Five years later we might even be rocking New Zealand.

OFG: Socially speaking does the band affiliate itself with any charities or special causes?

Matt: Pinhead roadies were our specialty, now we just give at the front of 7-11 like the rest of the world. ( grinning)


OFG: Do any of you guys endorse any equipment that you plan on using while on tour? If yes what and why?

Matt: Virgil endorses Pearl drums and hardware, Vater sticks ('Virgil's Assault brand sticks'), Sabian cymbals, Remo drumheads, & Protechtor cases amongst others. Scott endorses Spector basses. Matt endorses Yamaha guitars and Seymour Duncan pickups. We play this gear because it rocks.

OFG: How many venues are you looking at with the up coming tour?

Rob: I think it's like 100 shows in 10 days. The shows will be quick, but brutal! East coast in January. Should be interesting. Buffalo, NYC, Philadelphia, Boston, D.C., etc. those will all be posted at freakhouse.com by the time this interview is online I'm sure.

OFG: When you first arrived in LA was it more or less difficult to book gigs than you had anticipated and where was your very first show in town?

Matt: We played our first gig here in L.A. before we ever moved here. We played at a now defunct club called Mogul's for an Eric Carr (Kiss) benefit. We did a cover of the Kiss song War Machine' for that show. We changed it up and did it our way. We liked it. That was put on by the Kiss AOL fan club I believe. We've pretty much played at all the clubs we ever wanted to here. All the ones you hear about when you don't live here. Whisky, Roxy, Troubadour, House of Blues. Invade and destroy.

OFG: What has been one of the most memorable moments in the last year for the band?

Matt: There have been a lot of them. Great shows, worldwide cd release, meeting a lot of cool people, but the most memorable was Rob hanging from the Hollywood sign after losing his third job in L.A. to a yuppie hipster.

OFG: What was it like the first time you heard Freakhouse on the radio?
Matt: Very cool of course. That will always make the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

OFG: Is there another CD in the near future?

We'll be on the Gallerion's Rion Soundtrack this spring (anime feature film). The track on that one will be 'Beautiful Misery'. There will be a show in L.A. to promote this release event with a bunch of the bands on it. Other acts on this release will include Slipknot, Godhead, & Coal Chamber I believe.
There is Reality Volume 1, which is a compilation our label is putting out that will feature a remix of 'Peel Away the Skin'. The original version of that song is on 'Beautiful Misery'. We're also going to be writing and recording some soundtrack exclusive stuff. We've got lots in the works. We've really just started to promote 'Beautiful Misery' though and will be touring to support it in the states starting on the East Coast in January.

OFG: What advice do you have for other bands that want to take the plunge and come out to LA?

L.A. is a cool, scenic place to live. We love it here.
My answer to this question is a question. First- it's about the music, right? If the answer is yes then keep reading. Non- musician types will want to skip to the next question. This is part of how we did it:
Taxi.com - go here and read about what Taxi is if you don't know already.
Sign up. It may seem expensive, but will save you LOTS of time and you will get written one page critiques of your music.
Submit your music to fifteen to twenty appropriate listings they offer.
Get the critiques back and see what the general opinion is amongst the reviewers (these are music industry veterans between jobs usually).
What do most of those people think your strengths and weaknesses are?
Iron out those weaknesses, THEN consider moving to L.A.!
The reason I say this is to save you time, money and frustration. OR...
Just move out here and learn the hard way. Welcome to L.A.!!

Thank you for your time and humor guys it's been fun. Is there anything you'd like to add for the benefit of the readers. ( Use this to invite guests to your website etc.)

Please go pick up a copy of Freakhouse's 'Beautiful Misery'. If you can't find it in your area, check out Bestbuy.com Then go check out Freakhouse.com to explore our worldwide cyber fan community. Come see us on tour. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

By Edie Potvin - Orlando Florida Guide

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